It came true. The dream of millions of Americans to have Joe Biden's voice in their heads narrating their perceived reality – that's real now.
Vice-president Biden has launched a new audio diary on the White House web site in which he describes what he was thinking in various pictures of himself.
"Hey folks, I want to tell you about this picture you're looking at," one entry begins. "These are a couple guys in their hunting shirts that I'm serving a meal to, along with the people in the background."
The series, which is not made up but which exists as you and I exist, is called Being Biden.
"Hi everyone, this is Joe Biden, vice-president Biden," the introductory entry begins. "I wanted to start this audio series, uh, to give you all a closer look inside the life at the White House, and the vice-presidency. It's a fascinating world, and I'd like to share some of my experiences with you."
See the site for yourself.
Entries so far include Welcome: Intro to Being Biden and Vol 1: The Sportsman's Ethic.
We look forward to the release of future episodes, including "Gutted: How to Field Dress an Animal that Outweighs You" and "Kierkegaard at 200: The (Un)Certitude of Faith."
Those are made up. In reality Biden might reflect on what it was like to greet the new pope, or the new secretary of defense.
As a PR strategy for the White House, the Biden diaries make sense. The audio files are embeddable and the vice-president has a demonstrated ability to win the internet. Biden is an affable figure, although his favorability rating is only barely above water.
The site invites voters to get to know Biden in a new way that feels intimate, although it is not (thank God?). It's the kind of thing you might jump at the chance to participate in, as a politician, if you were in the early stages of plotting another national campaign.
You can request to receive an email each time a new entry is added. We've signed up; we're listening.
And we bet Hillary is, too.
